[Page 1]
COUR PERMANENTE D'ARBITRAGE
PERMANENT COURT OF ARBITRATION
PRESS RELEASE
PCA CASE NO. 2022-13
KN-HOLDING LLC & SEVERGROUP LLC v. THE FRENCH REPUBLIC
THE HAGUE, 12 JUNE 2026
The Parties to the dispute have agreed, as mentioned in Paragraph 11.5 of Procedural Order No. 2 dated 15 April 2024, that the Tribunal may receive amicus curiae submissions. By a press release dated 13 March 2025, the Tribunal invited applications for leave to file amicus curiae submissions to be submitted by 10 April 2025.
Following this invitation, the Tribunal received six timely applications for leave to file amicus curiae submissions. Having sought and received the Parties’ views on these applications, by a decision dated 12 June 2025, the Tribunal permitted three of the six applicants to file written amicus curiae submissions by 4 July 2025 and determined the permitted scope of those submissions.
In accordance with the Tribunal’s directions, Collectif des Premières Nations, Organisation des Nations Autochtones de Guyane, and Guyane Nature Environnement filed amicus curiae submissions on 4 July 2025.
In accordance with the procedural calendar, the Parties have exchanged written submissions on the Respondent’s jurisdictional objections and on the merits in this case. The Claimants filed their Statement of Claim on 9 August 2024, their Reply on 10 December 2025, and their Rejoinder on the Respondent’s jurisdictional objections on 14 April 2026. The Respondent filed its Statement of Defence on Preliminary Objections and Liability on 28 April 2025 and its Rejoinder on 13 March 2026. Each Party also submitted an expert report on questions of French domestic law.
The written phase on jurisdiction and merits comprised a document production phase, leading to the Tribunal’s issuance of Procedural Order No. 3 (with its relevant annexes) on 24 July 2025. Considering the Parties’ requests related to sensitive documents, the Tribunal invited the Parties to submit privilege logs and, after review of those logs, ordered the production of additional documents by its Procedural Order No. 4 (with its relevant annexes) on 20 November 2025.
Following the conclusion of the written phase, a two-day evidentiary hearing on the principle of liability and preliminary objections took place on 18 and 19 May 2026 in Singapore, during which the Parties made oral submissions and cross-examined their respective legal experts. It was agreed that the Parties
[Page 2]
will simultaneously submit written post-hearing submissions by 31 July 2026. The Parties’ submissions on costs are due by 15 September 2026.
The arbitration was initiated by the Claimants on 8 June 2021, in accordance with the Agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments dated 4 July 1989 (the “France-Russia BIT”) and under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules 1976. In their notice of arbitration, the Claimants allege that the French Republic breached Articles 2, 3(1), 3(2), 3(4), 4(1), 4(3) and 8 of the France-Russia BIT in relation to the Claimants’ rights to exploit gold and other resources in the Montagne d’Or area in French Guiana.
The Tribunal is composed of Professor Dr. Klaus Sachs (Presiding Arbitrator), Ms. Anne K. Hoffmann (appointed by the Claimants), and Professor Brigitte Stern (appointed by the Respondent).
After consulting the Parties, on 6 April 2022, the Tribunal issued its Procedural Order No. 1, appointing the Permanent Court of Arbitration (the “PCA”) as registry. The proceedings were subsequently suspended by agreement of the Parties at the request of the Claimants until 23 May 2023.
On 4 March 2024, the Tribunal held a first procedural meeting with the Parties. After this meeting, the Tribunal and the Parties executed Terms of Appointment and the Tribunal issued its Procedural Order No. 2 on 15 April 2024, fixing the procedural calendar, deciding that the place of arbitration shall be Singapore, and determining that the languages of the arbitration shall be English and French.
In a Decision dated 3 December 2024, having sought and received the Parties’ views, the Tribunal granted a request submitted by the Respondent for the bifurcation of the proceedings. The proceedings were thus bifurcated into two phases. The first, ongoing, phase is focused on the Respondent’s jurisdictional objections and the principle of liability. The second phase (if warranted) will focus on the quantum.
Pursuant to Procedural Order No. 2, the Tribunal shall instruct the PCA to publish a press release at each stage of the proceedings, summarizing the background of the case and procedural developments. Basic information about the proceedings is available on the PCA website.
* * *
The Permanent Court of Arbitration is an intergovernmental organization established by the 1899 Hague Convention on the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes. The PCA has 128 Contracting Parties. Headquartered at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the Netherlands, the PCA facilitates arbitration, conciliation, fact-finding, and other dispute resolution proceedings among various combinations of States, State entities, intergovernmental organizations, and private parties. The PCA’s International Bureau is currently administering seven inter-state arbitrations, one other inter-state proceeding, 90 arbitrations arising under bilateral or multilateral investment treaties or national investment laws, 101 arbitrations arising under contracts involving a State or other public entity, and 11 other proceedings.
Contact:
Permanent Court of Arbitration
E-mail: [email protected]